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Pennsylvania State Trooper 37-year-old Ronald Keith Davis of Williamstown who "is married with a family in Dauphin County," fought with his ex-girlfriend at the end of August, Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said.
The woman had been living in a trailer on his property, but following the fight he locked up a storage shed with her things and then locked her out of her trailer, as detailed by investigating Pennsylvania State Police in the affidavit.
After discovering she was locked out, she sent him dramatic text messages reading:
"My mental health doesn't matter. I am a useless old stupid uneducated piece of s--t."
- "If this is where I am supposed to die then so be it."
- "I think I'm going to drive off a cliff."
- "Go out [in] style. I don't even have clothes because you [held] them hostage. Oh well I'll just do it in style naked have a nice life."
Davis showed his coworkers at the station the messages only after he threatened her saying "I know you're not crazy. I'll paint you as crazy," she told troopers in an interview.
Davis went on to exaggerate and told them that "she had been acting strangely lately and is depressed," so he was advised to contact Dauphin County Crisis Intervention. Even though this was a personal matter, he began to act in his role as a Trooper, starting by using his Pennsylvania State Trooper email to submit an Involuntary Mental Health Commitment form, the PSP investigators allege.
His fellow troopers told Davis she was located in the Weiser State Forest and they would send someone to go get her and he was not needed. That's when Davis, outside of work hours and in plain clothes supposedly was seen on the PSP Station's security cameras going inside getting the commitment papers and a co-worker heard him say "I'll take care of it myself," as stated in the affidavit.
Once he got to the forest and attempted to take her into custody, he asked a bystander to begin recording.
In the following video, you can see Davis throw the woman on the ground, choke her, and hear her complain numerous times that she "could not breathe." Officials investigating this incident also noted that he never told her that he was acting in his role as a Trooper and the woman was not properly informed that he was going to have her committed.
Investigating troopers maintain that the woman was of sound mind, the texts were taken out of context, explaining that she was just trying to "get a reaction out of him," and they "revealed her frustration with [...] his controlling behavior (and her desire to break off the relationship)." Once placed in the hospital for the Involuntary Mental Health Commitment, she received care for bruises and scrapes all over her body that she sustained when Davis apprehended her. "Medical records also described [her] as agreeable with medical personnel and she displayed no suicidal, homicidal thoughts, no major mood symptoms, or psychosis," troopers stated in the release.
The victim is a former model and works in marketing and communications in New York City, according to public records and her social media profiles. Daily Voice has chosen not to release her name at this time for her safety.
Davis faces a felony charge of strangulation and misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, simple assault, official oppression, and recklessly endangering another person, according to PSP, the DA, and court documents.
Davis was stationed with Troop L in Jonestown and has been a member of the Pennsylvania State Police since 2015, according to the criminal complaint. He has since been suspended, the DA said on Sept. 22, the night after he was arrested.
He remains in the Dauphin County Prison after being denied bail as there is "no condition or combination of conditions was sufficient to protect the public from Davis," Magisterial District Judge Rebecca Jo Margerum said, according to DA Chardo. Margerum will also reside over his preliminary hearing scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 2, as detailed in his court docket.
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